Apparatus for chlorination of disposal from a series of toilet bowls



March 26, 1968 5, c R so 3,374,490

APPARATUS FOR CHLORINATION OF DISPOSAL FRC-M A SERIES OF TOILET BOWLS FilEd Sept. 1, 1965 INVENTOR. GORDON R. CHRLSON ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,374,490 APPARATUS FOR CHLORINATION OF DISPOSAL FROM A SERIES OF TOILET BOWLS Gordon R. Carlson, 19 James Place, Metuchen, NJ. 08840 Filed Sept. 1, 1965, Ser. No. 484,246 11 Claims. (Cl. 4-115) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to apparatus for chlorination of disposal from a series of toilet bowls onboard ships or any vessel containing two or more toilets by delivery of the disposal from the several toilets to a treatment tank or unit. More particularly, the invention deals in arranging a macerator tube centrally of the tank, into the upper portion of which the disposal or waste is delivered and in arranging a plurality of blades on a shaft arranged longitudinally of said tube in providing an efficient breaking-up of the solids and mixture thereof with the treatment material or agent injected into the waste material just prior to entrance into said tube.

Background of the invention The invention deals in a unit of the character defined, wherein said tube has lateral discharges in the lower portion thereof for discharging the treated waste into the lower portion of the tank or cylinder of the unit and for final discharge from the upper portion of the tank externally of the hull of the ship or vessel on which the apparatus is installed.

The novel features of the invention will be best understood from the following description, when taken together with the accompanying drawing, in which certain embodiments of the invention are disclosed and, in which, the separate parts are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views and, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of an apparatus illustrating, in part, the discharges from two toilet stations, with parts of the construction broken away.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view diagrammatically illustrating the treatment tank or unit, with parts of the construction broken away and parts shown in elevation; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged section on the line 33 of FIG. 2.

Considering FIG. 1 of the drawing, I have shown two toilet stations and 11, diagrammatically represented by a circle with the identifications (T1) and (T2) therein, respectively, to indicate toilet 1 and toilet 2. At this time, it is pointed out that the. treatment tank or unit 12 of the apparatus will have a capacity to service up to six toilets. However, two only of the toilet stations 'are' shown to simplify the illustration. The tank or unit 12 comprises an elongated outer cylinder 13, note FIG. 2, having an upper closure cap 14 and a lower closure cap 15. The upper portion of the cylinder has, at one side, an inlet tube 16, including a pipe coupling flange 17. At the other side of the cylinder is a discharge tube 18, having a similar flange 19. The tube 16 extends into the chamber 13' of the cylinder and is coupled with a macerator tube 20, the tube 16 communicating with the upper portion of the tube 20, as clearly noted. Mounted upon the upper portion of the closure cap 14 is an openwork bracket 21 for supporting an electric motor 22. The bracket 21 includes a downwardly directed tubular extension 23, having suitable bearings, indicated at 24, for a motor driven shaft 25, the latter extending downwardly through the tube and having another bearing support 26 at the lower end of the tube 20 adjacent two lateral discharges 27 at opposed sides of the tube 20.

Fixed to the shaft 25 are a series of vertically spaced and upwardly directed blades 28, having an irregular arrangement upon the shaft 25, with the uppermost blade positioned at the lower portion of the tube 16, but in alinement with the passage of the disposal or waste delivered to the tube 16, as diagrammatically seen.

Arranged on the tube 16 within the chamber 13' is an upwardly directed guide tube 29, into the upper portion of which extends the discharge end 34 of the treatment agent supply tube 31. The tube 31 is coupled with a chemical treatment solution storage tank 32, or to the motor driven pump 33 arranged upon the top of the tank employed for forced circulation of the treatment chemical or disinfectant agent to the unit 12 for introduction into the Waste material as it passes through the tube 16 and into the tube 20 in each cycle of operation of the apparatus, as later described.

The lower end of the unit 12 has a drainage valve plug 34 coupled with the cap 15 for draining the unit 12 as and when required.

Turning now to FIG. 1 of the drawing, at 35 is shown the discharge tube from the toilet at the station at which the tube is secured to a T-coupling 36 arranged in a discharge tube 37, preferably having a gravity feed to the unit 12 or the tube 16 thereof. At 35' and 36 is shown another coupling, similar to the coupling 35, 36, with the pipe 37 to care for the disposal or waste discharged from the toilet at station 11 and other similar couplings can be arranged in the pipe 37 up to six in number, depending entirely upon the requirements of the installation.

At this time, it is pointed out that the capacity of the chamber 13' in the unit 12 will depend upon the number of toilet stations coupled with the pipe 37.

At each station 10 and 11 I have diagrammatically shown at 38, 38' switches which are actuated at the time of flushing the toilets in transmission of the waste from the flushed toilets to the unit 12.

Again, considering FIG. 1 of the drawing, it will appear that a discharge pipe 39 is coupled with the discharge tube 18 and the pipe 39 preferably extends outwardly through the hull 40, at what might be termed a discharge station, of the ship or vessel for transmission into the water, in which the ship or vessel is operating.

In the operation of the apparatus, the operation of the switch 38 by the user in flushing the toilet automatically puts the system of the apparatus into operation, namely operation of the motor 22 and the pump 33. The pump 33 operates for a controlled length of time to inject a predetermined amount of the disinfectant agent into the tube 16 and, thus, into the macerator tube 20. The blades 28 macerate and blend the waste material and disinfectant agent for a controlled length of time, it being apparent that the blades 28 are constantly acting to move the mixture in the tube 20 upwardly, while permitting final discharge through the lateral discharges 27 into'the chamber 13' of the tank.

The treated material is retained in the chamber 13' below the discharge tube 18, until such time that a sixth flushing of a toilet or combination of toilets takes place and, at such time, the treated matter in the chamber 13' will be discharged through the tube 18 into the pipe 39 and dumped overboard. In other words, at the sixth cycle of operation, the liquid in the upper portion of the chamber 13 will rise sufiiciently to be discharged by gravity through the tube 18. Thereafter, each cycle of operation of the apparatus will result in a similar discharge. The foregoing is true as and when the chamber 13' of the unit 12 has a capacity to normally retain five discharges therein.

From tests conducted by the United States Government, apparatus of the type and kind under consideration have shown that the end results meet requirements of the Federal Government as well as State health departments.

By positioning the upper blade 28 in alinement with the tube 16, it is possible to break up any foreign objects that might be introduced into the waste inlet line before passage through the tube 20.

It will be apparent that there is the possibility with operation of theapparatus with a number of toilet stations that several of the stations might be simultaneously fiushed. By way of illustration, if three toilet stations are flushed simultaneously, the motor 22 will operate for sixty seconds and the pump 33 will operate three times as long as it would operate in the flushing of a single toilet.

As a further illustration, by way of example, if three toilet stations are flushed five seconds apart, the motor 22 will operate for seventy seconds and, again, the pump 33 will operate three times as long as it would otherwise operate it a single toilet station was operated.

With my improved apparatus, the disinfectant agent is introduced into the incoming waste or sewerage before passage into the tube 20 and the macerator blades 28 operate to keep the agent in contact with the waste for a long period of time. It is preferred that the tube 213, as well as the tube 16, be composed of stainless steel for the most 7 efficient operation of the apparatus.

A seal 23' is provided around the path 25 at the lower end of the extension23 to prevent water and the like from entering the ball bearings 24. The bearing 26 can be a plain bearing.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A chlorination apparatus comprising a treatment unit, a disinfectant agent storage tank, a pump on said tank for forced feeding an agent from the tank to said unit and a supply tube extending from said pump, a plurality of toilet stations, means for delivering waste material from said stations to said unit, said unit comprising a tank defining a treatment chamber, a macerator tube arranged vertically longitudinally of said chamber, an inlet tube at the upper portion of said tank for reception of said waste material and connected into the upper portion of said macerator tube, a discharge tube at the upper portion of the tank and in communication with said chamber, means at the upper portion of the tank for supporting an electric motor, a driven shaft extending downwardly from said motor into said macerator tube, longitudinally spaced blades carried on said shaft within said macerator tube, the lower portion of the macerator tube having a discharge into the lower portion of said tank, said supply tube from said pump extending to said tank, and means for guiding the treatment agent from said supply tube into said inlet tube adjacent and in spaced relationship with respect to said macerator tube.

2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said blades urge the material introduced into the macerator tube upwardly with respect to the discharge end of said macerator tube.

3. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein one of said blades is arranged in alinement with the inlet tube of said unit.

4. An apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said blades are in staggered spaced relationship longitudinally of the motor driven shaft.

5. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said last named means comprises an upwardly extending tube opening into said chamber and into the inlet tube of said unit, and the supply tube from said pump extending into said chamber and said upwardly extending tube.

6. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said first named means comprisesa pipe, spaced T-couplings in said pipe, and pipes extending from the toilet stations to said T-couplings.

7. An apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein said stations have manually actuated means for putting the system of the apparatus into operation upon flushing the toilets at each station.

8. An apparatus as defined in claim 7, wherein a pipe is coupled with the discharge tube of said unit for directing discharge from the chamber of said tank to a predetermined discharge station.

9. In an apparatus of the character defined, a treatment unit comprising an elongated cylinder, inlet and outlet tubes at the upper portion of the cylinder, a macerator tube arranged longitudinally of the cylinder, means supporting an electric motor at the upper portion of the cylinder, the motor having a driven shaft extending down Wardly into and longitudinally of said macerator tube, the inlet tube of the unit opening into the upper portion of said macerator tube, a plurality of macerator blades spaced longitudinally of said macerator tube, with the uppermost blade arranged in alinement with said inlet tube, said inlet tube having an upwardly directed tubular extension within said cylinder, a disinfectant agent supply tube extending into said cylinder and said extension for delivery of an agent to waste material delivered into the inlet tube at a point adjacent and in advance of said macerator tube, and said macerator tube having a discharge at the lower portion thereof opening into said cylinder at a point above the lower end of the cylinder.

10. An apparatus as defined in claim 9, wherein said macerator blades are characterized to move material delivered into the macerator tube in an upward direction, and the lower end of said cylinder having means for draining said cylinder.

11. An apparatus as defined in claim 9, wherein said tubular extension has a bore larger in diameter than the diameter of said supply tube.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner.

D.- MASSENBBRG, AS31314"? Examin r; 

